Growing Your Social Capital

1. I first contacted Josh L. He is the Senior Mobile App Developer at Core Mobile Apps. Core Mobile Apps is a company, located in many regions in Florida, that specializes in mobile app development, search engine optimization, and web design. Josh fulfills the slot of 'domain expert'. I found him through a basic Google search of app developers in Florida and contacted him through the company's website. Ideally, my exchange with him will give me more knowledge and background information on what I will need in order to develop the app required for my product. Including Josh in my network could be incredibly helpful, especially down the road if I do plan to take this a step further.
   
2. I next contacted Brad Rose at Rose Research. Rose Research is a market research company that conducts global market research as well as B2B market research. Brad Rose has conducted both quantitative and qualitative research at Rose Research for the past 20 years and fulfills the 'market expert' slot. I found him through a Google search that recommended Rose Research and contacted him through the website. Brad Rose could provide very insightful and helpful information regarding the uses and perhaps even the popularity of the product I am offering. Having Brad in my network would certainly provide me with quality information and the ability to further understand my market.
   
3. Finally, I contacted Olivier at Goverlan Reach. Goverlan Reach is a B2B company that offers remote IT support, systems management, IT management, and manage service providers. Goverlan Reach helps businesses by saving them time and working efficiently. Olivier fulfills the 'supplier' slot. I also found him through a Google search and contacted him though the website. Olivier could provide insight on selling a product from one business to another. Having him in my network could be very beneficial and allow me to understand the nuances of selling B2B. 

Reflect: This exercise has helped me develop 'networking' skills. Networking can be incredibly challenging, but with experience it can become a much less daunting task. This exercise was a good first step towards building my network. This experience was different from my past networking experiences because those were all face to face and not online.

Idea Napkin No. 2

1. You
   My name is Veronica Rosenbaum, and I am a business major at the University of Florida. My parents are entrepreneurs and have owned several businesses throughout the years. Because of this, I have grown up working with my family and learning a lot about the elements of business and customer service. As a result of my experience, I am adept at solving problems quickly and efficiently.
2. What are you offering to customers?
   I am offering customers a program that blocks unwanted and bothersome calls from telemarketers and robocallers. My program gives my customers the ability to stop relentless robocalls that use up precious time, especially for businesses or people who use their phones to conduct business. 
3. Who are you offering it to?
   I am offering this program to individuals and businesses. Anyone who uses a phone that receives robocalls or telemarketer calls is a potential customer. If an individual uses this program, they can download it in the form of an app onto their smartphone. However, if a business uses this program, they can use it through their service provider.
4. Why do they care?
   My potential customers care because, depending on how many of these calls they receive, the calls can quickly become irksome and inconvenient. This particularly occurs when it is a business who receives these calls. If they receive too many, it can begin to impede their ability to answer the calls of their customers.
5. What are your core competencies?
   One of my core competencies is my ability to problem solve. After watching my parents over the years solve problems on the fly, I have learned how to do the same. I am also flexible and can adapt easily to any situation. 

I do think these elements fit together nicely. It is important to be able to problem-solve and be flexible and adaptable when starting a business.

Feedback: I did not receive any critical feedback on my first idea napkin. The feedback I had received was all positive, but still very much appreciated. However, I did alter my idea napkin to be a specific as possible. 

Elevator Pitch No. 2

1) Pitch
https://youtu.be/j83hW9JBwcY

2) Reflection
I really appreciated the feedback I received on my pitch from last time. The positive criticism allowed me to expand upon my good points and to try to remain thorough in my explanation of my product and problem.

3) Changes
I did not change a lot of my pitch besides some information at the end. I did, however, try to slow down the delivery of my speech because I have a tendency to talk fast.

Create A Customer Avatar

My customer avatar would be a forty year old male business owner or one who conducts a lot of business on the phone. He most likely owns a nice vehicle, perhaps a truck or expensive car. He spends most of his time working and talking on the phone.  He is typically always busy so he doesn't do much in his spare time besides relax and watch some television. He most likely tends to watch the sports channel. He also has a Facebook account and is always scrolling through it, He goes out with old friends as much as he can so they stay in touch. He also has children who are most likely in middle school. Because he is always working, his body feels older than 40, but his mind does not think that he is 40. He does not read much unless it is something required for work.

I do have a little bit in common with my avatar: I am also constantly busy. I am either doing school work or working so I do not have time for much else. However, my avatar has the most in common with my dad since it is loosely based on him. He is also a business owner who works through his phone a lot and is constantly busy. I do not think this is a coincidence because we always draw from our knowledge and experiences. We cannot create something out of thin air, because the idea has to originate from somewhere.

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No.2

Interview 1: 22 year old female

• She would certainly use my program because she receives many robocalls. 
• When choosing from a set of alternatives, her main concern is price. After she determines which price range she prefers, she then considers quality. 
• She prefers shopping online because it is much easier, especially through online retailers like Amazon who ship items quickly. She typically pays with her bank card because she rarely carries cash. 
• When she evaluates her purchase, she thinks about whether or not the product accomplished what she needed or wanted. If it did so, it was a good purchase. 

Interview 2: 35 year old male

• He also would use this program. 
• His main criteria for selecting a product is quality. After considering the quality, he then considers the price. 
• He often does not do much shopping, his wife does most of it, but when he does, he prefers online. If goes to stores in person, he pays with cash. 
• To evaluate his purchases, he thinks about whether the product actually worked. If it worked and did what it claimed it would do, then he considers it a good purchase. 

Interview 3: 52 year old female

• She receives many robocalls and would purchase this product. 
• Her only criteria for purchasing products is the quality of the product. She rarely considers price unless the product is very expensive. 
• She does as much shopping as she can online because she prefers that to going to crowded stores. Although, when she does go to physical stores, she typically pays with cash. 
• She evaluates her purchases on how well she believes a product did what she thought it was supposed to do. If the product succeeded in its purpose, then it was a successful purchase. However, if the product did not do what it was supposed to, then the purchase was not a good one. 

Conclusion: Overall, Buyers in this segment prefer shopping online. Two out of three of my interviews used quality as their main criteria, however price is also considered. The buyers in this segment typically evaluate their purchase based on how well the product fulfills its expected purpose.  

Reading Reflection No. 1

1. I read Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance
1. I was most surprised by the shyness and awkwardness Elon Musk seemed to present when meeting people for the first time. Sometimes, when we only see rich entrepreneurs in the headlines, we forget that they are just people. There is nothing supernatural about them. It was nice to be reminded of that fact. 
2. I most admire Musk's dream. While I do think his dream is fantastical and perhaps not entirely realistic, I admire that he continues to pursue it despite the naysayers.
3. I least admire his inability to focus on his personal life (i.e. family and loved ones). Admittedly, Musk is a busy man and he does try to carve out time for them, however, family has always been incredibly important to me and would be my top priority and that does not seem to be the case with Musk. 
4. Musk has definitely dealt with adversity and failure throughout his career. In fact, he currently faces both with Tesla and SpaceX. Many people believe he will not succeed, and currently, both of his projects are not very prosperous or successful. 
   
2. As an entrepreneur, Musk is very persistent and tenacious. He is constantly striving to improve and challenge himself, his company, and his employees. Musk puts a lot of work in company with the belief that he will not only succeed, but thrive. Despite the challenges he faces in these industries, Musk has yet to give up. 
   
3.  I am slightly confused on how exactly Elon Musk managed to make it from South Africa to America. It is hard to tell from the book whether or not Musk grew up wealthy. If he did, then it makes sense how he got to America. However, if he did not grow up wealthy, then how was he able to make it here?
   
4. I would ask Musk how he was able to educate himself in an industry in which he had no experience in. I would also ask him how he overcomes all the people who don't believe in his dream and his ideas.
   
5. After reading this novel, I would assume that Musk believes in hard work. He would most believe that without hard work, nothing would get done, and I completely agree with that. 

Halfway Reflection

1. In order to keep up in this course, I have had to focus on and develop my organizational skills. When keeping up with the various assignments and cupcakes, it is important to ensure that each part of the assignment is submitted, otherwise you can easily lose precious points. I have also had to work on my problem-solving and critical thinking skills through the various assignments that require such skills. Communication is also very important in this class. It is important to be able to communicate your ideas both written and oral.
   
2. A few weeks ago, I had 3 exams within the span of a few days. I toggled between studying for those exams and completing assignments for my classes. At that point, I became incredibly stressed, unsure which of my classes to focus on. I also fell behind on a couple of my lectures which made it difficult to complete my assignments. It was a very trying week, but instead of giving up, I just worked twice as hard to study and finish my assignments. I do think I have developed a more tenacious attitude in the past couple months.
   
3. The first suggestion I would make to a student for next semester is to stay organized. I recommend using a calendar to keep track of assignments and due dates as well as lectures. For me, organization has been key to keeping up in this course. My second suggestion is to look at the assignments ahead of time because many of them require forethought. For example, the assignments that require interview, reading, or video pitches. Oftentimes, you can not wait till the last minute to complete an assignment. My third and final suggestion is to just keep working no matter how stressed you become, because in the long run, you will be better for it.